We bought the 250 CCP

[Evan337]

We left early Sunday morning from Baton Rouge and arrived in Matthews, NC around 8:00 PM on Sunday night. Looked at the boat that evening and got up the next morning and met the owner at his shop to see it during the daytime. It's a 1990 250 CCP enclosed transom with an engine bracket. It is powered by twin 150 HP 2000 Evinrudes Fichts. The boat has all new electronics and gauges, new t-top, leaning post, outriggers and a Lowrance GPS and depth finder. It came with a tandem axle, torsion spring aluminum trailer with stainless steel brakes. We bought the whole package for $8,000 and threw in some Crawfish, Alligator meat and a couple of Chris' Specialty Meats stuffed chickens.

The hull is solid. I have looked at 22'-25' CCP models from the late 70's until the the early 90's and this hull was by far in the best condition of the ones I have seen. Solid floor, well maintained, no major bumps or bruises. A couple of minor rubs and a couple small spider cracks was the extent of the ware. The cover for the gas tank between the leaning post and the console was a little springy but I don't think it is at a point where it needs to be replaced. The fuel tank cover on the 19-6 FF we had was a little springy as well.

The guy we bought the boat from is the owner of Carolina Marine and Cycle. He has owned the boat for three years and fixed up to his liking for his personal use. He completely rebuilt both engines top to bottom and had the computer systems remapped and reconfigured by DFI. The compression tests checked out. Every year he and his son would trailer the boat from NC to the Florida Keys and fish for ten days. They went anywhere from 30 - 60 miles offshore. Those two trips, plus another five or so outings on fresh water lakes has been the extent of the usage this boat has seen over the last three year. About 25 outings in all.

My question for the guys on the forum is about the twin 150 Evinrude Fichts. For the last 24 hours I have done google search after google search reading up on the controversy that surrounds these engines. People either love them or hate them. It seems like once Bombadier bought OMC and fixed the bugs associated with these engines that the upside was pretty good. Quiet, started easily, lots of power, fuel efficient, ect. My dad had instant buyer's remorse after speaking with his outboard mechanic on the way home. His mechanic told him that had he known they were Fichts he would have advised him not to buy the boat. I still feel like we got a great deal and fully expect these engines to serve us well for the next several years. I'm interested to hear what you guys think.

[gran398]

I think you stole it

The engines, electronics, top, wiring, trailer, gear etc. are worth 8K...you got the hull for free.

Great use of crawfish, alligator meat and stuffed chicken

[Capt. Bob]

1:The engines are, no matter what, 21 years old. Apparently they still run so.......
I wouldn't see that as a deal breaker.
You seem to have gotten a lot of boat (and trailer) for the price if everything is as you described, hence the need for the #2 (see below).

2:

I really want to see this hull.

Good luck.

[Evan337]

Gran,

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm optimistic that the engines will perform well. The previous owner did all of the updates and maintenance that Bombadier determined was needed to give these engines more longevity and dependability.

Capt. Bob,

I tried to post pictures a couple times without success. I have a few from the listing and will take more once we give her a good bath and refinish the teak. I iwll take some of her on the water this weekend. How do I post pictures?

[wingtime]

Capt Bob you may have missed they are model year 2000 engines.  So they are 11 years old.  I know the 1998 and 1999 were the worst years and the 175HP motors had the most trouble.  I think the 200's were OK.  Not sure about the 150's.  I hear they are great fuel sipping motors other than them blowing up...  I wonder why he rebuilt them.      But I think your OK.  Not much you can do about it... there is little you can do to prevent them from blowing up other than using the proper oil.  I have heard that if they do blow it is usually right away so motors with some hours on them are a better bet.

But then again I did NOT stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Evan337]

Wingtime,

I have read about using the right oil to prevent a blown engine as well. He rebuilt both engines but only one had a bad lower unit. Apparently these engines had an issue with the way the computers were programmed to inject the fuel. I have reade that they were programmed to run too lean or that they were stretching the atomized fuel out so far that it was having a negative impact the ability of the oil to lube the pistons. Once the Bombadier's engineers came in after they bought OMC in 2002 out of bankruptcy they remapped or reprogrammed the computers and they had better success with engines. Both of these engines have all of the updates and fixes that Bombadier issued. This is all information I gathered from online forums so take it FWIW.

[Double Trouble]

Wingtime,

I have read about using the right oil to prevent a blown engine as well. He rebuilt both engines but only one had a bad lower unit. Apparently these engines had an issue with the way the computers were programmed to inject the fuel. I have reade that they were programmed to run too lean or that they were stretching the atomized fuel out so far that it was having a negative impact the ability of the oil to lube the pistons. Once the Bombadier's engineers came in after they bought OMC in 2002 out of bankruptcy they remapped or reprogrammed the computers and they had better success with engines. Both of these engines have all of the updates and fixes that Bombadier issued. This is all information I gathered from online forums so take it FWIW.

Evan I have 2000 200HP ficht engines with 837 hours on them and they are still strong. I did have one of the ECM'S redone this past summer other then that I am happy with there performance. Keep them well maintained and you will be good to go as far as oil I used Evinrude 50 semi synthec until this spring. I know use Pennzoil Premium Plus and I think the engines run better and cleaner. One thing to watch is the cooling lines for the ECM make sure they stay clear or your ECM will fry. Order yourself the service manual for that engine get the evinrude manual not a generic one they are well worth the money.

[flounderpounder225]

Evan
Don't sweat it, I know lots of folks over here with Fichts and they love them, never had any problems.  I think as you already know, take care of them, do the regular maintenance and run them, and have fun, it sounds like a great deal, and sweet boat.
Marc

[Capt. Bob]

Capt Bob you may have missed they are model year 2000 engines.

You are correct.

Better still!

[Capt. Bob]

How do I post pictures?

Start here. This should do it.
viewtopic.php?p=21402#p21402

Still having problems, try this next. It refers back to the above link (no need to click). Be sure to read post carefully!
viewtopic.php?p=60638#p60638

Good luck.

[Evan337]

These Pictures aren't great. Some were taken by the seller and used in the online listing. Some were taken with my iphone yesterday when we picked it up. It was overcast yesterday so the lighting isn't great. I will take some more so you can get an idea of the bracket construction and the closed in transom. I really like to two livewells and the fresh water and raw water wash down stations. This boat came with a lot more bells and whistles than what I was expecting. I will tell you this, I can't imagine too many things more stressful than towing this thing on I-85 thorugh downtown Atlanta right before rush hour. We spent almost $600 in diesel getting up there and back but it was worth it.

[wingtime]

WOW! Nice boat!  She sure is a big one!  I didn't realize just how big until I saw the pic of her hooked up to the Super Duty truck.

I heard carbon jacking of the rings was a big problem with the ficht motors...  what caused it I have no idea..  I did hear a combustion chamber tweak and remapping was a solution.  Isn't the Etech motors just a updated Ficht?   I know Mercury had teething problems with the DI Optimax... AKA  Opti bomb...  but they are a very desirable motor now.   Once a product gets a bad name sometimes that just sticks even though the problems were solved.

[Capt. Bob]

I see you quickly mastered pic posting.  but......

Photos like these make my realize how little I know about Aquas.

I expected something totally different.
To me this looks like a circa 80's Hialeah built hull.

Any chance you can get a pic of the Coast Guard Capacity Plate?
I don't doubt it is a 90 hull but it would answer a comment I heard from a Member on this Forum concerning the move to the Wellcraft plant in Brandenton/Sarasota.

Just curious, like George.

Thanks and again congrats.

[gran398]

That is a LOT of rig for 8K. Great find.

[seabob4]

I had left Hydra-Sports just moments (almost) before OMC declared BK and shut the doors, due to the warranty claims on Ficht motors.  What I know, from a variety of inside sources, was that the failures occured between the atomization stage (idle and slow speeds) and the homogenization stage (advancing the throttle).  The transition (as determined by the TPS) caused a lack of lubrication to the pistons, hence, causing the meltdowns.  The fix was, one, re-designing the piston skirts and oil passages and, two, re-mapping the computer to bring in the homogenious mix earlier in the RPM range.  That fix's downside was slightly poorer fuel economy, but between the 2, those pretty much solved the Ficht issue.  Once BRP got that squared away, they went on to refine the system, hence, we have Etec as we know it today.

The Etec, the Optimax, and the Yam HPDI are all different versions of the same principle.  And they all have had their issues...